College Football Nation: Mega-conferences are in the works

Eric Avidon

Thursday

Sep 22, 2011 at 12:01 AMSep 22, 2011 at 9:15 PM

With the announcement on Sunday that Syracuse and Pitt are joining the ACC - plus news that UConn is seeking membership in the conference and the boards of regents at Texas and Oklahoma have given approval for those schools to seek new homes - the wave of realignment resulting in a new landscape for college football continues.

The days of mega-conferences may be near.

With the announcement on Sunday that Syracuse and Pitt are joining the ACC - plus news that UConn is seeking membership in the conference and the boards of regents at Texas and Oklahoma have given approval for those schools to seek new homes - the wave of realignment resulting in a new landscape for college football continues.

The ACC will have 14 teams when the Orange and Panthers join in two years, and it would be surprising if two more schools weren’t added before that time.

“In my 35 years in this profession, I’ve never seen as much instability and potential fluidity in terms of schools and what conference they may or not be in than what I see currently, so we’ll just have to see how that plays out,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in an interview with ESPN on Monday. “I think as much as anything, it’s happening because schools are looking for stability, and if they don’t feel that their program is stable in the particular conference where they exist then they look for something else that may give more stability for the future.”

Beyond the ACC, the SEC is also in the process of expanding, with Texas A&M on its way out of the Big 12. Logically, a second school will be found to join when the Aggies arrive, bringing its total to 14 as well with that potential bump up to 16 looming. And though the Pac-12 says it has no desire to expand, that could change in a nanosecond with rumors flying around Oklahoma and Texas as possibilities primary with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech tagalongs.

Ultimately, the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 (currently) and SEC will be winners, while the Big East and Big 12 will scramble to survive - the Big East even held an emergency meeting Tuesday night in New York.

The gut reaction is to resist.

The first thoughts are of the obliteration of what’s been, the potential loss of that annual Thanksgiving night battle between Texas and Texas A&M and the Backyard Brawl between Piit and West Virginia among the ashes.

And the fact that money is at the root of the movement makes the emerging landscape feel dirty, greater profits for schools that negotiate moves in secrecy to dump one conference in favor of another.

But really, as long as the current flux leads to something stable, so what.

Sports evolve. And what resistance there is to change - even though money is almost always the root of it - is eventually forgotten.

How many people still lament the fact there is a wild card round in baseball, when as recently as 1994 only first-place teams made the playoffs? It was a move driven by money, to keep more teams relevant late into the season and then add national television and gate revenue for up to 10 extra playoff games.

And money is at the root of expansion teams, moves and mergers.

Who among us even thinks that the Miami Heat didn’t exist until the late 1980s when we rage over the way LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, or that the Baltimore Orioles were once the St. Louis Browns, or that teams like the Edmonton Oilers of Gretzky and Messier and the New England Patriots of Brady and Belichick weren’t always part of the NHL and NFL, respectively?

Change happens. Money is the motivation, and after resisting we adjust and accept.

It’s happening in college football this very moment. And the end result actually has great potential.

While this could be the end if the Pac-12 and Big Ten choose to stand pat - and all the overwrought handwringing over the fates of the Big East and Big 12 will be for naught - the end result could be four conferences with 16 teams, each featuring two eight-team divisions.

In effect, there would be eight small leagues, each with eight teams.

In effect, a playoff suddenly emerges.

The four conference championship games suddenly become national quarterfinals, leaving four teams standing.

While there have been constant calls for a playoff in recent years as the failings of the BCS have been exposed, college presidents and conference commissioners have taken a hard line in favor of the current format. But there is a softer stance when it comes to what they call a plus-one, a four-team playoff that would add only a single extra game for the teams involved.

Four teams left standing from the four mega-conferences. A four-team playoff. Hmm, one plus one equals ... .

It’s so simple. So logical.

The system wouldn’t be perfect. There would still have to BCS Standings so that independents - Notre Dame chief among them - would have a chance to be one of the final four, as well as non-BCS members like Boise State.

There would still be occasional controversy when one of the four mega-conference winners was left out in favor of a BCS buster. But at least it would be about that fourth spot, with a team that lost a game or two along the way, rather than that second spot when a team like Auburn in 2004 that’s unbeaten gets left out in favor of two other undefeateds.

It’s true, some traditional rivalries will be lost as conferences fade and new ones emerge, but that’s happened before. The sport survived.

It’s true, some schools will be left without a spot among the 64 that make up the mega-conferences. But the current Bg Six conferences have 66 members, meaning the difference would be just two.

The gut reaction is to resist the wave of consolidation.

Something feels wrong about it. But it’s already happening. And in truth, the end result could bring something better.

What We Learned

One day before the ACC made news off the field with the additions of Syracuse and Pitt, the conference showed it’s rising on the field.

The ACC has been an also-ran for the better part of a decade, with no true national championship contenders since Florida State started to fade around the turn of the century and not a lot of quality depth.

It was a conference mired in mediocrity as it awaited the returns to prominence of Florida State and Miami, barely better than the Big East but well behind the four other Big Six conferences.

Its champion was routinely beaten in the Orange Bowl, and no ACC team has ever been picked for an at-large bid to a BCS bowl.

In measuring-stick games, ACC teams routinely came up short with Florida State beaten soundly by Florida on a yearly basis, Virginia Tech losing to teams like LSU and Boise State in marquee games, and neither Clemson nor Miami able to carry its weight.

It was just one Saturday, but the ACC showed in a series of games that it may finally be living up to the promise expected of the conference when it expanded to 12 teams last decade with the additions of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College.

Five ACC schools had games against teams from other BCS conferences. Only three of them won, but even the two that lost did so in impressive fashion.

The biggest of the five was Florida State, ranked fifth at the time, hosting No. 1 Oklahoma. The Sooners got the win, but the game was tied 13-13 in the fourth quarter and the Noles were using their backup quarterback. In defeat, Florida State showed it’s finally back among the elite, capable of competing with anyone.

At the same time FSU went toe-to-toe with the nation’s top team, unranked Miami whipped 17th-ranked Ohio State.

Early in the day, Clemson - seemingly always an underachiever - beat No. 21 Auburn by two touchdowns, ending the 17-game winning streak of the defending national champions, and Georgia Tech demolished Kansas with an astronomical 604 rushing yards.

The other loss for the conference was unranked Maryland against No. 18 West Virginia, but it was by just six points, a middle-of-the-pack ACC team nearly upsetting the Big East’s best.

It was only one Saturday. Clemson could revert to form and fade. Miami could crumble under the weight of its transgressions. Florida State could slip again.

But it was a Saturday that showed a glimpse of greatness for a conference long mired in mediocrity.

Game of the Week

Coming soon to a town near you, the LSU Road Show rambles on.

After beating third-ranked Oregon in Dallas on opening weekend, then taking out No. 25 Mississippi State in Starkville last Thursday night, the Tigers head up to Morgantown to play 16th-ranked West Virginia.

It’s yet another test for a team playing a schedule like none other. While Oklahoma opened with Tulsa before playing its one tough non-conference opponent, Alabama has rolled through two patsies plus a mediocre Penn State team, and Boise State crushes its weak opponents after getting its lone decent win over Georgia, LSU is readying to play its third ranked opponent in four weeks, none of them at home.

As impressive as the victories are, however, each is risky.

With a single loss, LSU puts its probability of playing for the national championship in peril. And though West Virginia likely isn’t as good as Oregon, that game in Dallas had the feel of a home game for the Tigers. There will be a hostile crowd, and a good opponent, waiting in Morgantown.

“West Virginia is a very good football team,” LSU coach Les Miles said on Tuesday. “I’ve been looking forward to this because I've been told Morgantown is a wonderful place to play. Their game day experience is a lot like an SEC game. ... It speaks to us in an environment like that. It is another challenge.

“The good news is that we’ve been on the road and understand it. We’re getting to a point where our road character is established, as is our personality.”

The game is meaningful for the Mountaineers as well.

Should they somehow pull the upset, suddenly they’re 4-0 with a schedule that could easily result in a perfect record - only No. 18 South Florida remains as a ranked opponent.

“The amount of eyes looking at our facilities and our stadium, the city of Morgantown and the state of West Virginia is a positive thing,” said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. “I’m fired up about it. I’m glad it’s here and all that stuff is positive. At the end of the day, it’s about putting our best product on the field. ... We have to figure out what our job is, go out and have a good week of practice, and focus on the job at hand.”

Beyond LSU’s third major test, there’s another game out there that will have an impact on the shape of autumn.

A pair of top-10 teams from the Big 12 will clash in College Station when No. 7 Oklahoma State comes calling on No. 8 Texas A&M. With both teams averaging better than 40 points per game - the Cowboys are over 50 - the scoreboard will be spinning. But in the context of the season, it’s an elimination game between a pair of second-tier teams, the type that can’t afford a loss and still hope to reach New Orleans.

The winner will have the opportunity to battle Oklahoma for its position atop the polls, while the loser will soldier on at that second level.

My Top 10

1. LSU (3-0): As impressive as the win over Oregon was on opening night, going to Starkville and beating up Mississippi State was just as good.

2. Oklahoma (2-0): The Sooners survived Tallahassee, but was given a bit of a gift when E.J. Manuel got hurt.

3. Alabama (3-0): Arkansas and Florida the next two weeks represent a leap in the level of competition.

4. Boise State (2-0): Tulsa gave the Broncos a fight ... for a little while.

5. Wisconsin (3-0): One more tuneup before the Huskers come to Camp Randall.

6. Stanford (3-0): A solid win at Arizona.

7. Oklahoma State (3-0): Once again, a great offense with a lousy defense.

8. Texas A&M (2-0): A win over Oklahoma State would be a statement.

9. Oregon (2-1): The Ducks are bouncing back nicely from their loss to LSU.

10. Nebraska (3-0): The defense is a concern - 24.7 points allowed per game against subpar opponents.

Contact Eric Avidon at 508-626-3809 or eavidon@wickedlocal.com.

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